


Until We Say "I Do"

by heartsdesire456



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Canon Jewish Character, Catholic Character, Family, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Marriage, Religion, Wedding Planning, Weddings, interfaith marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-20
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-09 16:12:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6914167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When they had become engaged, it had been like a switch had flipped with their mothers. They were still very happy for them and they both were waiting with open arms to welcome the other into the family. No, the problem was not dislike.</p><p>The problem was that for some reason, the minute a ring came into the picture, both Raphael’s mother and Simon’s mother somehow immediately and independently became <i>obsessed</i> with their son’s future husband converting to their religion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Until We Say "I Do"

**Author's Note:**

> I just loved the idea of Raphael and Simon's mothers having this little amusing 'I love you but don't you think that maaaaaaybe you should join our faith' thing going on. It's too funny to not go with!
> 
> As for all the religious content in the story, I am not a religious person, but I think religions are all beautiful and love them so this was such a fun one to write! I just really love religions and especially religious wedding customs. This was great fun to write!

The ringing phone woke Simon up and he groaned, turning his face into the pillow. The phone continued to ring and didn’t show any sign of stopping. The voice behind him was to be expected but Simon wasn’t looking forward to it either way. “Simon. Answer that damn phone.”

Simon grunted. “You do it.”

“It is not my phone.”

Simon sighed, rolling over to face Raphael with a grumpy look. “It’s not my mother.”

Raphael opened on eye suspiciously. “And how do you know that?”

Simon shuffled closer, sliding a hand around Raphael’s waist. “Because it’s Saturday morning. She’s at temple.” He tucked his head under Raphael’s chin, snuggling closer. The phone continued to ring and Raphael groaned, reaching over Simon to grab his phone off the bedside table. Simon smiled against Raphael’s collarbone, pressing a small kiss there.

Raphael answered the call with a sleepy grumble. “ _Bueno_?” Simon could hear Raphael’s mother on the other line and chuckled at the grumpy noise Raphael made. “ _Mama, que es demasiado temprano para telefonear._

Simon distinctly heard her reply, “ _Dile a Simon que debía ir a la iglesia contigo a mañana_.”

He poked Raphael in the side. “Tell her I’m an atheist now and it’s her fault,” he replied, knowing enough Spanish from living with Raphael to know that she wanted, as always, for Raphael to invite Simon to church with them. 

“ _Mama, Simon no va a la iglesia en absoluto. Te quiero, Mama, pero voy a dormer ahora._ ” When Raphael hung up on his mother, Simon gasped playfully against his skin. “Oh shut up,” Raphael muttered, throwing the phone down near the foot of the bed. He curled his arms around Simon, kissing his curls before releasing him and twisting around to face the other way. “I’m still sleeping,” he announced grumpily and Simon just looped his arm around Raphael’s waist sleepily, laying his head on Raphael’s pillow as he loosely spooned him from behind.

“Same,” he said sleepily, settling down into the pillows again, hopeful he could get at least another hour of sleep on the one day they both got to sleep in.

As long as Raphael’s mother didn’t call them. Which she usually did. Most every Saturday morning, when she knew Simon’s mom would be busy and couldn’t be calling them already. 

It was exhausting.

They really earned that extra sleep just putting up with their mothers, if you asked Simon.

~

Raphael and Simon had met, surprisingly, at a party. Surprising because Raphael didn’t go to parties often, in fact, he usually tried to get out of them, but it had been Magnus’s thirtieth birthday party and, being old friends, Raphael couldn’t avoid going without feeling like a bad friend. There was a band playing at Magnus’s party at Magnus’s club, which was a first since they never had live music. It turned out that, in a roundabout story Raphael really hadn’t asked for, Magnus’s new boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend’s best friend had a band and they needed money and gigs, so Magnus hired them to play at his party because he didn’t like his boyfriend’s brother, but he liked his boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend, and the brother hated the best friend and Magnus, as Raphael well knew, was a spiteful shit. 

Raphael new Magnus because, years ago, when Raphael was still a teenager and thought he was a badass rather than a short little sixteen year old with a superiority complex, Raphael had come across Magnus being held up at knifepoint by some guys late one night on an otherwise deserted subway platform and, being a sixteen year old with a superiority complex, he’d actually walked right up to a guy wielding a knife and threatened to kick his ass.

Looking back, Raphael was always aware how incredibly lucky he had been that he and Magnus hadn’t both been cut to ribbons because of his stupidity, but for some reason, the guy with the knife ran off without harming either of them. Raphael hadn’t expected any sort of reward or extra-gratitude from the guy he’d saved, but Magnus, being the dramatic man Raphael now knew and (occasionally) loved, he had hugged Raphael within an inch of his life and promised he’d have his babies – which Raphael should’ve took as a warning to run and never look back, but hey, stupid teenager – and though Raphael didn’t take him up on that offer, he did accept Magnus’s offer to buy him a late-night dinner at the closest diner. 

It turned out for Raphael that his new biggest fan was actually an up and coming fashion designer with a lot of connections and, even though Raphael was only sixteen, he promised him that, as soon as he finished with school, he would help him find a good job since they were now – because Magnus was nuts – best friends. True to his word, a few years later, Magnus landed him a pretty decent starting job at an advertising firm that Magnus’s fashion company worked with. Within two years, Raphael had proven his worth at Third Wave Digital and, by the time of Magnus’s thirtieth birthday party, he was head of his own department at the ripe age of twenty-four.

At that party, Raphael hadn’t even noticed Simon playing in the band until they took a break and Raphael saw him at the bar, trying to flirt his way – terribly – into getting a free drink from the bartender. Simon was the annoying, nerdy looking type that Raphael usually could not stand, and in reality Raphael was not much of one to just hit on random men at bars, but for some reason, he saw his pretty smile and thought ‘why not?’, and walked over to offer to buy him a drink. 

Even after he went back to play with the band, Raphael kept noticing him, and he could see Simon looking at him as well, and even though he hardly ever picked someone up for the evening, after the band had finished and the party was winding down, Raphael asked Simon if he would like to get out of there and Simon accepted. 

Of course, Raphael only learned that Simon was only eighteen the next evening, after spending the night and the entire next day together, but by then he had already, for some stupid reason he still didn’t really understand even now, two years later, gotten attached to Simon’s brand of annoying. 

These days, he knew more reasons to love Simon than he had the slightest idea of then, but he still had no idea how he’d looked at Simon after one drink together and thought, ‘I want some of that’, because even though he loved him dearly now, he still found himself looking at Simon and thinking he had to be insane to love someone so _weird_ sometimes.

One of the biggest things they had in common, however, was that they both were the sons of single mothers who thought their son was the most perfect human to ever grace God’s green earth. Neither of them had any shame in how devoted to their mothers they were. In different ways, their mothers had shouldered so much to give them everything they ever had and they both loved their mothers more than almost anything in the universe. 

Raphael’s mother had faced an abusive husband until the day he turned his hand to Raphael, after which she took all five of her sons and left him. She got all six of them to America without any help and worked tirelessly to make sure they were always given a good home and everything they needed with no help besides Raphael taking care of his brothers. His mother was his hero and he would do anything in the world for her. 

Whereas Raphael’s father had been a bastard who deserved far worse than to just be left without a family, Simon’s father had been a wonderful man. Simon spoke of him as an incredible, loving father and husband who devoted so much love and attention to his family in the short time he was with them. He had passed when Simon was just a child, leaving Simon’s mother to care for both of her children all alone while grieving the loss of her husband who had been her best friend and the love of her life. Raphael had never really appreciated what that must have been like until he had gotten used to living with Simon and imagined how incredibly hard it must have been for Simon’s mother to lose something even greater than what he had with Simon and still manage to do everything right for her children. Simon loved his mother and thought of her as something more than human the same way Raphael did his mother. 

Raphael’s biggest fear – and he knew Simon’s as well – when they got into such a serious relationship so quickly was that his mother would not approve of Simon. It had been difficult enough for her to be proud of her gay son as such a devout catholic woman, but for him to bring home an eighteen year old boy after only a few months seeing each other has been nerve-wracking. Thankfully, his mother had loved Simon and, when the opposite came, Simon’s mother loved him as well. They both got along incredibly well with each other’s mother from the very start, and if Raphael was honest, that was probably one of the major factors that made it so easy to just continue on such a ‘fast tracked’ path towards where they were today. 

After only about a year of dating, they moved in together, and after only about a year of living together, they were engaged to be married. Both of them had mothers who reassured them that in their youth it was not at all unusual to get married after only two years together, so even when all of their friends thought they were insane, they were comforted by their mothers’ approval. Raphael couldn’t wait for Simon to be his husband. Simon might be young, having just turned twenty days before Raphael asked him to marry him last month, but Raphael didn’t see any reason to wait. They were both devoted to a future together, that much had been apparent very early on, and remaining unmarried would mean nothing when, eventually, they were most definitely going to be married. Raphael fully expected, barring tragedy, to be in his eighties and happily married to Simon even then, so why not go ahead and be married now so that they could celebrate wedding anniversaries sooner rather than later. Simon was actually excited to be able to show off his rich husband to the other college students, but Raphael was used to Simon being that weird, so it was to be expected, really. 

When they had become engaged, however, it had been like a switch had flipped with their mothers. They were still very happy for them and they both were waiting with open arms to welcome the other into the family. No, the problem was not dislike.

The problem was that for some reason, the minute a ring came into the picture, both Raphael’s mother and Simon’s mother somehow immediately and independently became _obsessed_ with their son’s future husband converting to their religion. Every Saturday morning, when Raphael’s mother knew Simon’s mother would be at temple, she called to try and talk Simon into coming to mass with Raphael and his family on Sunday, and every Sunday when Raphael was at church, Simon’s mother called to try and coach him on how to convert Raphael. She also called Raphael multiple times during the week to try and give him subtle hints, the exact same thing Raphael’s mother did to Simon when she knew he did not have classes during the day.

While neither seemed to care about the inter-faith relationship when it was just living together, the _second_ they heard about Raphael’s proposal, their rivalry began. They knew what the other was up to and each of them was determined that both Simon and Raphael would be the same faith by the time they married, no matter how many times Raphael assured Simon’s mother that he was _not_ converting or how many times Simon reminded Raphael’s mother that he didn’t go to church for his own faith so there was no way he was going to suddenly become a devout member of an entirely different religion. 

As Raphael and Simon got closer and closer to deciding on a wedding date to set so they could start planning, both of their mothers became more and more desperate in their attempts and it was driving them _crazy_.

~

Simon didn’t get to see Clary very often. She was in art school and always working hard and he was still getting his degree even though, in Magnus’s words, ‘he didn’t need an education after he married his rich man’. Whenever he got to hang out with Clary, he considered it a good day, even if it wasn’t just them.

Also, he loved her stepdad. Luke was awesome. Simon would never be bummed to hang out with Clary _and_ Luke. 

“I ended up making a B on my essay, which sucks, but I’m good at math, not writing,” Simon finished, offering his sundae to Clary so she could take a bite and then give him a bite of hers in return.

Luke nodded to his hand when he took his sundae back. “Is that your engagement ring?” he asked, and Simon smiled, looking at his hand.

“Yep. When Jocelyn gets off work Clary is bringing me by and she wanted to see it.” He shifted his ring. “Raphael still won’t tell me how much it cost. Which probably means I’d pee my pants if he did tell me. So I’m usually pretty scared of wearing it,” he said, shaking his head. “The last thing I need is for it to get snagged on something and fall down a steam grate.”

Clary caught his hand and looked at his ring with a giddy grin. “I can’t believe you’re getting _married_ , Simon.”

Luke huffed. “Yeah, you better not go getting any ideas,” he said, pointing his spoon at Clary. “Twenty years older is far too young to get _married_.”

Simon made a face. “Didn’t Jocelyn get married at like barely eighteen?” he asked, and Luke gave him a pointed look.

“Yeah, and divorced by twenty,” Luke pointed out and Simon shrugged.

Clary patted Simon’s shoulder. “It’s okay. Raphael’s a good guy.”

Simon smiled and nodded. “I know he is, that’s why I’m marrying him.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “That and he’s really hot.” He laughed at the face Luke made and he rolled his eyes “And my mom likes him so that’s a pretty good sign.”

Clary snorted. “Is she still trying to convince him to convert?”

“Yes,” Simon groaned, shaking his head. “And his mother is still trying to convince me to become catholic. Now they call the future son-in-law’s phone so we can’t avoid them.” He laid his head on Clary’s shoulder. “It’s killing me. His mother calls so crazy early in the morning. I haven’t gotten uninterrupted sleep in on a Saturday since we got engaged. Every Saturday morning. Every. Single. One.”

Luke chuckled. “You two really need to sit your mothers down and talk about it. I know you’re not going to become catholic and I doubt your boyfriend is going to convert for your mother, either.”

“He actually practices his religion, so that’s a no,” Simon said firmly. “Neither of us have any problem with our differences of faith. It’s not a big deal. And I didn’t think it was before my mom started talking about a Jewish wedding and his mom started talking about me converting,” he whined. “It’s like adding a wedding to the mix makes it all different somehow.”

Luke shook his head. “Mothers are like that. Especially you two. Raphael’s the oldest of many and you’re your mother’s baby.”

Simon made a face of misery, letting his head fall to the table with a thump. “Oh God. If Raphael and I ever have kids, it’ll just be the same fight all over again.” He looked at Clary miserably. “There is only one option. I’ve got to leave Raphael now, while I still have a chance at finding someone else.”

Clary scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Stop being dramatic, you are not leaving Raphael over your mothers’ rivalry.” 

Simon just pouted playfully. “Might as well. We’re going to be miserable forever. Just watch.”

~

Simon was growing more and more used to Raphael’s mother calling at the worst time to the point that he was about ready to accuse her of some weird sixth sense about when her son was about to get some and interrupted just to spite Simon for not converting. 

This time, Raphael had just come up behind Simon while he was washing dishes and surprised him with a kiss to the side of his neck, after which Simon had made a half-assed attempt to ‘finish the dishes’ before Raphael whispered a dirty promise in his ear that had Simon turning around and kissing Raphael heatedly. Simon’s hands were just beginning to stray when the phone in Raphael’s pocket rang and, since it might be work, Simon had reluctantly let Raphael answer. 

It wasn’t work, though. It was the strange, cock-blocking magic that Simon would never stop believing Guadalupe Santiago possessed. 

Simon tuned out their conversation after a grumpy pout at Raphael resulted in him holding up one finger asking for a moment, and he decided it would be much better if he just turned around and continued washing dishes. Raphael didn’t seem happy with that, going by the way he curled himself around Simon once more, holding him close, but Simon ignored him as he finished washing dishes.

“Actually, Simon is right here, Mama,” Raphael said in English suddenly, making Simon turn and look at where Raphael’s chin rested on his shoulder. “Simon, Mama wants to speak with you.”

Simon glowered at him but took the phone after turning around and drying his hands on Raphael’s tee-shirt just for revenge, grinning when Raphael glared. “Hey, Mama Lupe,” he greeted, using the name she had insisted he call her when he and Raphael had first started dating. 

“Simon, mijo, I was wondering if your mama had decided on anything about an engagement party. I read in the magazines they are very common now,” she said and Simon grimaced.

“No, my mom hasn’t mentioned anything about it. I’m not sure she expects us to have one. You know how Raphael is about parties, Mama Lupe. He avoids being the center of attention as long as possible,” he said, ignoring the grumbling from Raphael across the room. 

She sighed. “That boy never wants the attention he deserves. Not even when it is his own doing! You don’t let him deprive you, Simon. Tell him, say, ‘Raphael Santiago, you asked me to marry you, so you put up with celebrating that event’, you hear me?”

Simon smirked, turning to look at Raphael. “You know, you’re right. It is Raphael’s fault we’re engaged. He’s the one who proposed to me,” he said making Raphael give him puppy eyes that _almost_ worked. “He didn’t have to get engaged to me if he didn’t want an engagement party.”

“That’s right, mijo! He should be proud of his luck with such a good boy. You’re too smart and handsome for him and he knows it.” Simon grinned in spite of himself, always a little flustered in the best way over how much Raphael’s mother loved him like part of the family already. “So you talk to your mama, and if she doesn’t want to throw a party for you, leave it up to Mama Lupe. We can have a big dinner here and be up late until all the neighbors complain!”

Simon laughed. “Only if you’re the one cooking for us, Mama Lupe. You know how much I love your food. Your son learning to cook like you is half the reason I’m marrying him,” he joked, grinning when Raphael rolled his eyes dramatically.

“Of course I cook for you boys whenever you want, Simon. Now, let me talk to that no-good boy of mine and I’ll be done with him fast enough he can help you with the dishes. I always say to my boys, ‘don’t ever marry nobody who won’t help with the chores’ and you do the same with my Raphael,” she said and Simon smirked.

“Raphael should help me with the dishes? You know, I like that idea,” he said. “I’ll talk to you later, Mama Lupe, bye,” he said before handing the phone back to Raphael, who just grumbled.

“I swear, my own mother likes you better.” Raphael put the phone to his ear, not waiting for Simon’s reply as he walked away from the kitchen, already speaking to his mother once again. 

~

Pulling up in front of Mama Lupe’s house, Simon could see Raphael’s brother Davíd’s kids drawing on the sidewalk in front of the house with chalk. Raphael was the oldest, but the second oldest of the five of them, Davíd, was the only one who had kids. Davíd’s daughters were four and three and Simon knew for a fact that they were really the loves of Raphael’s life, not him. The minute the car was shut off, Raphael jumped out and ran to scoop up his nieces, hugging them as he held one on each hip.

“Simon!” the oldest, Cristina, called, reaching out for him as he got out of the car. He smiled and jogged over, taking her out of Raphael’s arms. “Simon’s here!” she cheered excitedly.

“Hey, watch it,” Raphael joked when she hugged Simon. “Don’t get any ideas about stealing my Simon.” He hefted Emma and grinned at her. “Your sister’s gonna get it if she tries to steal my man,” he joked and Emma giggled. “Where’s your daddy?” he asked. “I know he didn’t let you out here on your own.”

Christina twisted in Simon’s arms. “Daddy was at the door, but I don’t see him now.” 

Simon grinned, kissing the side of her head. “Well let’s go find him.” He and Raphael both headed towards the house with the kids and, almost immediately, the door opened and Davíd came out. 

“Heeey! There you are!” He ran forward and hugged Raphael, pulling way with his kid in his arms. “Mama was staring to think you two weren’t coming.”

Simon rolled his eyes. “Someone-“ He shot a look at Raphael. “Wanted to drive instead of just take a train.”

Raphael grumbled. “It’s a long way, we would be on the train forever,” he argued as they headed into the house. 

Raphael’s mother’s house was in Queens. Raphael had bought it for her as a surprise when Simon had only known him a short while. When they first met, Raphael was the head of his department and doing pretty well for himself, but not long after they started dating, Raphael got a promotion that came with a much higher salary and a large bonus. Simon had convinced him that he should start investing – since finance was what Simon was studying after all – and Raphael had actually managed to make a small fortune very quickly with some smart investments. With his financial success, the first thing Raphael did was buy his mother a house. She had worked so hard for so long to provide him and his brother with a good life all on her own and they had grown up in a two bedroom apartment for all six of them. At the time Raphael bought her the house, only he and Davíd had moved out, so the only upgrade was that his mother finally could sleep in one of the bedrooms rather than on a pull out sofa where she had slept all their life in America. 

Simon knew already at that point that he had fallen in love with Raphael, but to see how wonderful of a man Raphael was to immediately buy his mother a _house_ rather than buy something for himself had really cemented it for Simon that this man was the one for him.

“Raphael and Simon have finally shown up for their own party!” Davíd called down the hallway and Raphael rolled his eyes. They put the kids down so they could go running and Simon heard his own mother’s voice.

“About time!” She was waiting when they walked in with her hands on her hips. “We were starting to wonder if you two were gonna show up for your own engagement party.”

Raphael gave her a smile. “Sorry we were late, the traffic was more than I expected,” he said with that ‘forgive me for anything’ smile that Simon was used to getting Raphael out of any negativity. 

“I hear my boys!” Simon turned around towards the kitchen doorway and smiled when he saw Mama Lupe. “Awwww look at my boys, you look so skinny, Simon!” she cried, coming over to grab him by the arms. “I gotta make that son of mine feed you better.” 

Simon just grinned over her head at Raphael as he hugged her. “He’s just too busy sometimes, you know? Always working instead of feeding me,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at Raphael, who gave him a playful glare. Raphael’s mother was a tiny, older lady with the biggest smile Simon had ever seen. She was the nicest person he had ever known and he knew Luke and Jocelyn, both of whom were sitting across from his mother waiting their turn to greet him and Raphael. 

“Well he better take better care of you or you can come stay with Mama Lupe and make him suffer,” she joked and Simon grinned evilly over her head, wiggling his eyebrows exaggeratedly at Raphael.

“Mama, you cannot keep my fiancé. You have enough sons already,” Raphael argued, coming over to kiss his mom hello.

“Oh my boy, you don’t come visit me enough,” she chastised. She turned towards the stairs. “MARTÍN! Martín your brother is here! Get down here!” She turned back to Simon and Raphael. “Come on, Manuel and Carlos are out back finishing setting up the tables! It’s so nice, you’ll love it!” she said, hooking an arm through each of their arms to guide them out to the back patio. 

Simon smiled brightly when he saw the long table with pretty table settings and candles to light when it got dark all along the table. Two more of Raphael’s brothers were, like their mom had said, finishing setting up. 

Raphael was the oldest of five boys, but the others were close in ages. Manuel was twenty-one, a year older than Simon, and going to college in Boston, so the whole family got excited when they got a chance to see him. Currently that included Raphael running over to hug Manuel since he hadn’t expected him at all tonight. “Manuel!” Raphael shouted, hugging the crap out of his brother. Simon couldn’t even follow their rapid-paced conversation after that, so he just high-fived Carlos and let Raphael catch up with his brother. 

“You’re not really that late, don’t listen to Mama,” Carlos said, grinning at the way his mother huffed as she left them to go see what was holding up Martín. “Your other parents just got here right before you did.” Carlos (and most of Raphael’s family) called Jocelyn and Luke Simon’s ‘other parents’ since they got included in all the family functions. They weren’t really _wrong_ , but it was still amusing. Jocelyn was definitely like a second mom to him and Clary was like another sister and, since Jocelyn married Luke, he was like an uncle of sorts to Simon. It was always nice that Raphael’s family welcomed Simon’s ‘other parents’ when it came to family events like this party.

“Time for dinner, now that I found my lazy teenager,” Mama Lupe called and everybody went to take their seats around the table.

~

After dinner, and after it had gotten dark, Davíd’s girlfriend had taken the kids to lay down inside since they were both falling asleep, but everybody else was still laughing and talking and having drinks and coffee after dinner. Simon sat a bit sideways in his chair with Raphael comfortably leaned back against his chest while he had a beer and spoke with his brothers almost exclusively in Spanish so Simon couldn’t really follow, but he didn’t mind. He was talking with Clary and her mom about Clary’s new art project that Jocelyn was helping with, so it was all fine. 

Davíd was the one who caught the attentions of everybody when he stood up. “So, I don’t know how these things usually work, but I figure an engagement party probably involves somebody speaking about the couple involved,” he said, and Simon curled his arm around Raphael with a smile. “Simon, I feel like now is the time to come clean and admit we all thought Raphael was insane when we first learned about you,” he said and everybody laughed at the glare Raphael gave his brother. Davíd winked. “We were having lunch after church and Mama was pestering him about how he never talked about his friends and he never had a boyfriend, and he just came out and said ‘actually, I met somebody, and he’s an eighteen year old college student in a band’, which isn’t what you expect to hear from a successful businessman,” he said with a gesture of his hand. Simon shrugged and laughed because looking back, he really did agree it had to sound crazy. “Mama thought he was having some mental breakdown, like a very early midlife crisis, and Carlos was like ‘but you’re old to us eighteen year olds!’,” he mocked his brother’s voice, making Carlos throw an ice cube at him. 

Davíd dodged the ice and grinned. “But as crazy as we all thought he was, we thought Mama was even crazier when she met you before we all did and wouldn’t shut up about now Raphael had met a nice boy and how much happier Raphael appeared to be whenever you were there. But you know what?” He grinned. “Mama was right after all, because in the past two years, my brother is a happier man than I’ve ever known him to be. You’re the opposite of anybody I’d have thought he’d ever end up with, but you make him an easier person to deal with, so it seems like expectations don’t mean much when it comes to Raphael.” He glanced at Raphael and winked. “You did good finding this one, Raphael, because he’s probably the best thing that could’ve happened to you. Simon, I am pretty sure every one of us agrees that we couldn’t be happier to welcome you to our family.”

When he finished there was a big ‘awwwww’ from Clary that made Luke choke on his wine laughing and started everybody doing the same even though they clapped for Davíd while laughing at her. Simon just smiled brightly, leaning his cheek against the top of Raphael’s head as he nodded. “Thanks, Davíd. And I’m definitely the best thing that could happen to Raphael,” he agreed with an exaggerated wiggle of his eyebrows, which made Raphael snort, no doubt rolling his eyes at him though Simon couldn’t see. 

Simon was also surprised when Rebecca was the next one to stand up, smiling at him with that sappy look she always got when she looked at him and Raphael. “I guess if Raphael’s brother can speak, I may as well speak, too,” she said with a chuckle. “Raphael, you, and your family I’d bet after that speech, can probably guess how my mom and I reacted when we found out the mystery boy Simon had been going out with wasn’t another teenager at college, but was instead an older man that already had a pretty solid life working in advertising. Now, I thought Simon had got lucky and got himself a sugar daddy,” she said and Elaine spluttered, slapping her on the hip with a glare. “What, Mom?! It’s just true!” she giggled. 

She looked back at Raphael. “I sure never expected when we finally met you that you’d be so young to be so successful, or that you’d be half as pretty are you are,” she teased. “No, really, tell me what you do to get eyelashes that long,” she joked, making everybody snicker at the blush sneaking up on Raphael’s cheeks. “But most of all, I know I didn’t expect you to be such a polite, nice, well-mannered guy, and I’m pretty sure mom was trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with you to make you wanna date her nerdy eighteen year old,” she said and Simon gave her a small ‘hey!’ in response. “But honestly? The more of you we saw, the more obvious it was that you really did care about him, and honestly I couldn’t be happier that my dorky little brother met such a caring guy, because the way Simon got so serious about you so fast had me so worried you would break his heart.” She raised her glass. “But you didn’t break his heart, you decided to marry him instead, and we couldn’t imagine anybody better for Simon than you.”

Raphael chuckled and bowed his head. “You are right, he is very lucky I didn’t come to my senses and find someone who didn’t make me sit through _twenty hours_ of Lord of the Hobbit movies,” he stressed.

Clary groaned. “Lord of the _Rings_ , Raphael, Jeez,” she whined and Simon held out his hand for a high-five from her. 

Jocelyn sat up, but didn’t stand. “Honestly I was never all that suspicious about you, Raphael, because as soon as Clary mentioned Simon had met a guy that was friends with Magnus, I just asked Magnus about you and he assured me you were the most ‘boring and responsible’ person he had ever met.” She winked. “I was just surprised you’re so handsome. I was expecting a stuffy English professor look, not a gorgeous, fashionable thing like you, although with Magnus as a friend I don’t know what I expected.”

Luke nodded. “I was never that worried because I asked for your full name and date of birth and ran a background check,” he confessed without a care, making Raphael sit up as he choked on his beer. Luke grinned. “I saw the tickets for vandalism as a juvenile but nothing more than average teenage ‘bad boy’ phase stuff.” 

Simon’s jaw dropped and he looked at Raphael. “Raphael Santiago, you got ticketed for _vandalism_?!” he asked and Raphael gave him a little shrug. “You never told me you were a teenage delinquent,” he accused and Raphael’s mother tutted.

“Oh my boy skipped class to spray paint on the walls with all those other boys,” she revealed, shaking her head. “Raphael was never a bad boy, he just had bad friends.”

Luke nodded. “Yep. Your record showed you got picked up for tagging a subway station in Harlem when you were fifteen, but with no criminal record after that, I figured you were probably an alright guy for Simon to be dating.”

Raphael chuckled at the look Simon was giving him. “You know you have embarrassing things from your childhood you didn’t want to tell me about. Luke just ruined my embarrassing childhood secrets,” he jokingly accused. 

Clary snickered. “Simon’s biggest childhood embarrassment is the fact he accidentally ate a pot brownie Missy Jones gave him in chemistry class and then he saw a spider on the windowsill that’s actually how the lab got set on fire in the tenth grade,” she said and Simon gave her a betrayed look when Raphael burst out laughing, falling back against Simon’s chest as he fought to catch his breath again.

Simon just shook his head at Clary. “Betrayed by my best friend,” he said solemnly, earning a grin.

“Really though, Raphael, hitting on a guy as hot as you at that party where you met is probably the most ‘daring’ thing Simon’s ever did,” she teased.

Simon nudged Raphael until he looked up at him and he nodded towards the table. “You notice how everybody keeps going on about how gorgeous you are? You’re ‘handsome’ and ‘hot’ and I’m ‘a nice boy’. I think they’re trying to say something,” he joked.

Raphael just grinned slowly. “Well I happen to think you’re the most beautiful, Baby,” he said, tilting his head up so Simon could kiss him sweetly, earning a big coo from everybody around the table at how adorable they were. Raphael reached up, stroking the back of his head. “And I’m the one that counts, because I’m the one marrying you.”

“Love you, Rafa,” Simon said, pecking his lips once more.

“Awwww they’re just so cute,” Elaine said, nudging Mama Lupe. “Look at our boys. Their wedding photos are going to be the best,” she commented and Mama Lupe clapped excitedly.

“Oh yes, they will look so good together in the pictures! I can’t wait for their wedding! My boy will look so nice and Simon will look so handsome, and then together they will look so beautiful,” Mama Lupe gushed. 

“It’s been a long time since I saw Simon in a yamaka,” Elaine sighed, and Raphael gave Simon a slightly concerned look, but Simon just shook his head and kissed him again to reassure him.

Martín made a sound and knocked on the table beside Raphael. “Ew, get a room, why don’t you?!” he complained and Raphael kicked him lightly before giving Simon one last sweet little kiss. “So gross.”

“You’re seventeen, not seven, get over it,” Raphael countered, then winked with a teasing grin. “You’re only a year younger than Simon was when we met, you might meet the person you marry soon enough,” he teased and Martín made a face at that which earned a laugh from Simon as well this time, even as he curled his arm around Raphael, holding him more securely against his chest while their families started breaking off into conversations again after the speeches. 

~

After the success of the engagement party, and the civility of their mothers, Simon really thought things might go better when they finally settled on a wedding date. They planned on a summer wedding so that they could go on a honeymoon before classes started for Simon in the fall. Raphael had already told his mother they weren’t having a religious wedding since they did not share a faith, but she had just upped her game in trying to convince Simon to convert.

This time she really laid on the _guilt_.

Simon would sometimes go visit Mama Lupe on the weekend just to spend some time with her, and often they ended up doing her shopping together so they could get out of the house. They usually had a good time together, because he loved Mama Lupe, but she did not hold back on speaking up. 

“I’m so happy you and Raphael are getting married so soon,” she said, looking at some flowers in the cart they passed. “It’s just so sad I won’t get to see my baby boy married in a church.” She sighed dramatically. “All my life, I dream of seeing any of my boys standing up there at the altar, but my baby Davíd, he and Jessica don’t wanna get married, and now my first boy to get married won’t be married in a church.” She gave a forlorn sign, looking at the flowers with the most depressed look in her eyes. “Who knows if I’ll ever live old enough to see my younger babies married either.”

When Simon got home, Raphael was still out, which only gave him more time to remember the sad, sad look on sweet little Mama Lupe’s face as she said she might never live to see a son married in church. When Raphael finally did get home, Simon wasted no time pouting at him. “Raphael!” he called when he heard him coming in the door. 

“Yes, Baby?” Raphael came walking in, unbuttoning his suit jacket. 

Simon flopped across the arm of the couch, tipping his head back to pout up at Raphael. “Mama Lupe is a manipulative woman.”

“Oh?” Raphael asked, folding his jacket to lay across the back of the couch as he leaned over, bracing his hands on the arm of the couch either side of Simon’s shoulders. “And how so?”

Simon gave him a wide-eyed look. “Dude, she pulled a _Jewish mom_ on me about not being Catholic!” Raphael laughed at him and Simon huffed, shoving Raphael’s tie away from his face when it fell and hit him. He sat up, twisting to kneel and face Raphael. “She started going on about how now she may _never live to see one of her babies married in a church_!” Simon pouted, reaching up to loop his arms around Raphael’s shoulders. “Raphaeeeeeeeel.” He slumped against him, making Raphael hold both their weight. “Raphael, she’s really good at this! I got home and found your _Bible_ and started thinking ‘well this is mostly the same stuff after all’! THAT is how good she is!”

Raphael gave him an amused but sweet smile and tugged himself free from Simon’s slump, circling to sit down beside him, curling his arm around Simon’s shoulders so he could lean into Raphael’s side. “Simon, she has five sons. She is well practiced at guilt. Do not let it get to you.”

“But it _is_ getting to me,” Simon grumbled sadly. “Rafa… I’m not going to convert, but… maybe we should have a Catholic wedding?” He looked up at him. “I’m sure there is somebody in New York who will do an interfaith wedding, right?”

Raphael gave him a sigh and stern look. “Simon, _Querido_ , even if we had a Catholic wedding, you are forgetting a very important part of our wedding that a church may have issue with.”

Simon frowned. “What? I know they have to do interfaith weddings somewhere-“

“Baby, we both have penises,” Raphael reminded him and Simon snapped his mouth shut with a hum.

“Yeaaaah,” Simon agreed slowly. “I guess a Catholic church might have issue performing a gay wedding a bit more than an interfaith one.” 

Raphael nodded with a grin. “She is just playing you like a fiddle. You’re so sweet she knows she can get away with it.” He leaned in, kissing Simon’s jaw. “Baby, don’t let her guilt you.”

Simon turned and met his lips, sighing against his mouth. “Raphael, she’s getting to me.”

Raphael chuckled, sliding his hand into Simon’s curls. “How about we stop talking about my mother and let _me_ get to you,” he asked, kissing along his jaw.

Simon hummed, pulling back to raise an eyebrow at him. “Oh?” he asked, reaching up to tug at Raphael’s tie slowly, and Raphael smirked.

“Let’s take your mind off my mother’s manipulation and my mind off a long day at work,” he suggested. He kissed down Simon’s jaw as he reached up to tug Simon’s glasses off while Simon removed his tie and started undoing the buttons on his shirt. 

They managed to get as far as Raphael on his back with Simon exploring his chest with his shirt hung open and Simon’s jeans unbuttoned before the doorbell interrupted. “Ignore it,” Simon muttered against Raphael’s stomach and Raphael nodded, but Simon barely got Raphael’s belt unbuckled before someone rang the bell three more times in quick succession.

“Damn it,” Raphael groaned, nudging Simon to move. Simon sat up, glowering over his shoulder at the door, but Raphael was already crawling off the couch and redoing his belt. Simon buttoned his jeans back up and tried to straighten his hair some, though the state of Raphael’s hair, disheveled from his neat style told more of a story than Simon’s rarely-tame curls anyways. When Raphael opened the door, a veritable whirlwind of color shoved past him. “Magnus. Why?” Raphael asked, glowering.

Magnus made a face. “Well aren’t you a grumpy goose?” He twirled around, backing the rest of the way into the living room. “It is I, your best friend and current wedding planner!”

“Since when?” Simon asked skeptically, giving Raphael a confused eyebrow raise.

Magus spun to face him, winking. “Since you’re marrying my dearest old friend, Sherman. Also, your smokin’ hot mother gave me this album from your parents wedding so I came right over to look through it with you guys and see what sort of nostalgia from the eighties you might be inspired by!” He flopped onto the couch beside Simon, sighing dreamily. “Trust me,” he said, gesturing with his hand. “If I wasn’t positive that my darling boyfriend is The One, I would be your new stepdad so fast you don’t even know. Your mother is _hot_. I’m talking ‘yes, Mommy, harder next time’ hot.”

Simon blinked a few times, then nodded, grimacing. “Yeah, and there we go.” He looked up at Raphael. “I sure hope you’re happy with a sexless marriage, because that just did the trick.” He shook his head with a shrug. “Never going to be able to have sex ever again. My penis may actually be inside my body right now, that’s how positive I am I will never need it again.” He stood up, patting Raphael on the shoulder as he passed. “I’m going to let you deal with this, because I will definitely kill myself if I hear another word out of his mouth.”

Raphael snorted and gave Magnus a disgusted look. “That’s just wrong. You are just wrong,” he said, though when Simon was gone he did chuckle a bit. He buttoned his shirt back up and flopped onto the couch, glaring over at Magnus. “You better have something good in that album rather than ‘let’s laugh at eighties hairstyles’ because you mentally scarred my fiancé and interrupted the first shot as getting any I’ve had in a week as busy as I’ve been.”

Magnus grimaced. “Ew, you’re like an old couple.” He tutted, wagging a finger. “That’s bad news if you aren’t even married and already aren’t getting any.” He flipped open the album with a grin, kicking off his shoes and pulling his legs up under him. “Alright, let’s look at Mrs. Lewis when she and Simon’s dad got married.” The first photo had Magnus whistling. “Maaaan that’s a lot of ruffles.”

Raphael leaned closer and smiled when he saw Simon’s mother. “I guess there is no question where Simon gets his smile from,” he said softly, reaching out to touch the photo of Simon’s mother in her wedding dress. They turned the page and Raphael’s heart leapt when he saw a photo of Simon’s mother and her groom wrapped in the same type of scarf thing that Simon had folded in his dresser. It was around both their shoulders and they were smiling at each other in a way that made Raphael feel pretty excited about his own wedding. He could only imagine seeing Simon smile at him with that same smile. “They look so happy,” he commented.

Magnus grinned. “Awww. I want to get married now.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Alexander would look incredible in that dress,” he joked.

Raphael turned the page. “Simon’s mother looked so beautiful on her wedding day.”

“His dad was pretty hot, too,” Magnus added. He looked at Raphael. “Whatever happened to Simon’s dad? Did he move away or was it a bad split or what? I’ve never heard about him.”

“He died,” Raphael said sadly. “When Simon was a boy. I believe he was very sick.” He looked at Simon’s parents faces as they smiled at each other. “Simon’s mother never has met anyone after her husband died. Simon says she has never had a man last more than a few weeks even though it’s been over a decade since his father died.”

Magnus nudged him with a sad smile. “She must be really thrilled you’re taking her baby away too, huh?” he tried for a joke, and it worked when Raphael perked up some.

“Actually she is just as thrilled as my mother.” He turned the next page and laughed when he saw Elaine and her husband laughing as they were held aloft in chairs. “Wow. That looks exciting.”

Magnus nodded. “Man, now I wanna have a Jewish wedding.”

“It does look fun-“ Raphael stopped, narrowing his eyes at the album. “Oh, she’s good.” He scoffed, looking at Magnus. “She put you up to this.”

Magnus grinned widely, wiggling his eyebrows. “Now you’re catching on.”

Raphael groaned, shoving the album closed. “I thought my mother was being sneaky. Simon’s mother, though, rather than going for straight guilt, she goes through ‘it will be fun and festive’,” he said, standing up. He paused and then shrugged. “I have to give her points for creativity, but you can return Elaine’s album because Simon and I are not having a religious wedding.”

Magnus sighed, standing. “Alright, sorry. It’s just she was at Jocelyn and Luke’s house and I was dropping something off for Jocelyn and she mentioned to Elaine that I’m your wedding planner – cause I told Jocelyn I was – and she just sprung it on me.”

He put the book under his arm and Raphael shook his head. “It’s okay. She is doing the same thing my mother is doing. They both want us to convert religions and they want us to have a wedding for it, but we have said many times that we aren’t changing anything.” He pushed his hair back, mussing it even worse. “Simon came home and read my Bible, that’s how my mother got to him.”

Magnus snickered some. “You and Simon should step up the planning and show them for sure you don’t have anything religious in the wedding, then. You’ve only got a few months.”

“Oh, I plan on it,” Raphael confirmed.

~

There was something about the wedding planning getting serious that made their mothers decide to just flat out stop worrying about trying to convert the other and start berating their own son about the wedding.

“Wait, what do you mean indoor venues?” Elaine asked Simon. He looked up from his laptop, glancing to his left at Clary and then to his right at Rebecca, who gave him a nudge and a pointed look.

Clary cleared her throat. “Well, Mrs. Lewis, Magnus suggested that indoor was a safer bet because you can never predict the weather.”

Elaine crossed her arms, giving Simon a look that, much to Simon’s concern, seemed as if she was trying to not show how upset she really was, which didn’t bode well. “It’s just- I’ve accepted that you’re not marrying a Jewish boy and I get it’s a secular wedding, but- but _indoors_?” she asked. “Simon.”

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Mom, I’m also marrying a man, so the tradition is broken already.”

“But it’s bad luck,” she said softly. “Simon, you’re getting married at _twenty years old_. You need all the good omens you can get and not getting married under the open sky is bad luck.”

“And what if it rains? Getting an entire wedding rained out is not good either,” Simon countered. “It rains and is humid almost every day in this city in summer. Do we really need to risk that?”

Rebecca shrugged. “Technically, rain is good luck for a wedding. A wet knot is nearly impossible to untie, after all,” she said, then held up a hand. “But, Simon is right. It’s his wedding, Mom. Not yours.”

Elaine shook her head. “Fine. Fine. I just can’t believe you’re risking bad luck, I don’t get to see my only son get married with his tallit, and there won’t be a single kippah in sight at my son’s wedding.” 

Simon gave her a helpless look. “Mom… I’m marrying a Catholic man who goes to church every single week, if we were having a religious ceremony, it would be a Catholic one,” he said simply. “I love Jewish weddings, every one we’ve ever been to was beautiful, but I’m not having one.” He shook his head with a sad smile. “I can’t help I fell in love with a Catholic man, Mom. And in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that important. We’re getting married. The wedding is just a big party that precedes what I hope will be a really long marriage that will have way more important things than the party at the start along the way.”

She shrugged, shaking her head. “Yeah, that part is pretty true,” she admitted and he grinned.

“Besides, you can save all of this Jewish Mom Guilt up for when we eventually have children and have to decide which religion to raise them in,” he said and Elaine groaned at the prospect of having _that_ face-off with Guadalupe Santiago someday.

~

“It just seems ungrateful to leave God out of such an important day in your life, Mijo.” Raphael looked at his mother as he washed the dishes after Sunday lunch at her house, and she reached out, brushing a piece of hair back out of his face. “He blessed you with such a wonderful boy, and yet He will have no part in your union to Simon.”

Raphael sighed, rolling his eyes. “Mama, God is in every part of my life always, and the fact my wedding does not have any prayers or religious things does not mean I am just shunning God out of the entire day.”

“But is Simon okay with this?” she asked him, taking him a bit by surprise. 

Raphael nearly dropped the dish he was washing as he turned to her. “What do you mean?” he asked and she stood from the table, walking to stand beside him.

“He is one of the Chosen People. Even if it is not the traditional Catholic wedding, is he even alright with leaving God out of the wedding entirely?” she asked. “Simon may not go to church with his mama, but he does still believe, doesn’t he? Surely he is not fully comfortable removing Him from his big day entirely,” she suggested. “There may be differences in the details of your beliefs, but you both are God’s children, Mijo. Have you ever stopped to ask him if he is fine completely ignoring the one who gave each of you the gift of the other?”

Raphael waited for her to continue, but she simply patted his arm lovingly and went on about her way, leaving him alone to finish the dishes in silence.

~

Neither of them could sleep. 

Raphael had been lying awake for what felt like forever and Simon’s tossing and turning told Raphael he was awake as well. Simon always tossed and turned when he couldn’t sleep. Simon let out a heavy sigh as he rolled onto his back and Raphael rolled over, sliding his hand up to rest on Simon’s chest. Simon slid down the bed some, shifting to rest more comfortably against Raphael’s front. “Baby,” Raphael asked softly, his voice seeming louder than ever in the dark, quiet night. “Does it bother you that none of your traditions will be honored at our wedding?” 

Simon stilled some, but then relaxed with an exhale. “Honestly? A little,” he admitted and Raphael nodded, pressing his thumb to Simon’s sternum absently. “You?”

“Not so much the traditions as much as just not having any sort of prayer,” Raphael confided. “Catholic weddings can be a bit long, but the prayers are often so beautiful. When my brother’s friend got married, her priest did his prayer and the homily about how what we were there for that day was not a marriage, and how the wedding and the marriage certificate was just a piece of paper, and he said, ‘marriage is not a piece of paper, or a celebration, or a ring, but a gift given to each other far greater than any other’ and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the church that day by the time he finished speaking about how love is the greatest of God’s gifts to us.” Raphael took a sharp breath. “I did not think when we started planning that leaving God out of the wedding would bother me like this.”

Simon chuckled. “I didn’t think I would care about traditions either, especially since I don’t even practice like you do, but… I don’t know. My mom had a bad reaction today when she realized we’re planning to have the wedding indoors. Jewish Tradition says that’s bad luck. Most people don’t bother these days, but traditionally she’s right. In strict sects, a marriage performed indoors doesn’t even count, but for us it’s just not the same good omen as marriage beneath a chuppah outdoors with the open sky above you.” He groaned, rolling over to tuck himself into Raphael’s arms, laying his head on Raphael’s chest. “An outdoor wedding is so risky but now it’s really starting to bother me our wedding won’t be outdoors. And she mentioned my tallit and all I can think about is how romantic it must be to have it wrapped around you and your partner while you go through the ceremony.”

Raphael kissed his temple. “Is that the prayer scarf thing? Your mother gave Magnus her wedding album and I saw your parents with a thing that looked like your prayer scarf wrapped around them like a blanket.”

“Ha, prayer scarf thing,” Simon teased. “Yeah, you get it when you’re a kid at your bar mitzvah, you wear it for religious things, at your wedding it is wrapped around you and your partner as a blessing of sorts, and when you die, you are buried wearing it. I didn’t think I cared, but the last Jewish wedding I went to, they pulled it up over their heads when they kissed, and they were both giggling like it was a fun game they were playing with their best friend, and it just seemed so beautiful and sweet to start your marriage goofing off like that, you know? I mean, I saw this joke on the internet about how being married is like getting to have a sleepover with your best friend for the rest of your life, and it just made me think of that, to see these two adults having _fun_ at their wedding.” 

Simon tipped his head back, looking into Raphael’s eyes in the darkness. “Because that priest you mentioned was right, wasn’t he? Marriage isn’t a contract with the state, and it’s not a party, marriage is a gift given to each other and to the both of you from God. A wedding should just be about two people and whatever higher power they give the credit for putting them both on earth and a bunch of people they love there to cheer them on as they pull the grown-up version of ‘best friends forever’ pinky swears.”

Raphael felt a swell of affection for the man in his arms and he couldn’t help but kiss him, smiling against his lips when Simon hummed in surprise. “I cannot wait to show God and everybody else that I chose you for my ‘best friends forever’ pinky-swear-partner.”

Simon grinned, looking even more adorable than usual. He pecked Raphael’s lips and brushed their noses together. “We’re totally proof that God’s totally down with gay lovin’, cause it took an act of Heaven for a man like you and a guy like me to ever meet to start with. He shipped us,” he joked and Raphael grinned.

“Does that mean that Magnus Bane is an instrument of divine planning? Because that would explain so very much about him,” he joked and Simon snorted, choking on air as he laughed at the thought of Magnus Bane as an Angel.

The more Raphael thought about it, the more he realized that he and Simon had been going about this wedding the wrong way. They had focused on the wrong things for so long, it would be so simple to fix things now, before it was too late.

~

When it came down to it, Magnus managed to pull out what all they needed in a relatively short time after they decided to re-do their entire approach, and earlier than expected, only the second week of July, Simon and Raphael surprised their families and friends by asking them to show up at Magnus’s house for a surprise one afternoon.

When Simon’s mother walked through the double doors onto Magnus’s large terrace and saw a chuppah standing near the railing, she nearly cried and Simon knew he had made the right choice after all. 

When everyone arrived and realized what was going on, Magnus brought both a priest and a rabbi from his office and they made their way to the head of the aisle just as music started playing and their guests – pared down from their original hundred plus guests to just their family and friends – took their seats. Raphael’s mother escorted him to his position and Simon’s mother escorted him to his. The priest read a blessing for their marriage, the rabbi recited a blessing as well, and then _Magnus_ presided over the actual procedure of the ceremony.

He was, unsurprisingly, already an ordained minister.

Simon and Raphael stood with Simon’s tallit wrapped around them as Magnus read the reading from the Old Testament that they had chosen. He really got into it as well. “My lover speaks; he says to me, “Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come! “O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the secret recesses of the cliff, Let me see you, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and you are lovely.” My lover belongs to me and I to him. He says to me: “Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; For stern as death is love, relentless as the nether world is devotion; its flames are a blazing fire. Deep waters cannot quench love, nor floods sweep it away.” He grinned. “As someone who has known one groom for half his life and the other for his adult life, I think we can all agree that if ever there was proof that love trumps all, it’s Simon and Raphael.” There was a small laugh through the crowd and Raphael gave him a warning look. “The two standing before you today are a couple that I think prove to all of us that love comes in mysterious ways, and they both can probably attest to the fact that two years ago none of us ever expected – them included – to be standing here. But just like the lovers in the Song of Songs, love found a way to surprise us all.” 

When the time came for them to say their vows and exchange rings, Simon couldn’t stop smiling and Raphael looked near tears. “Simon, when I met you I would have never imagined I would be standing here with you one day, and yet the day I asked you to marry me, I did not want to wait a day longer for this moment. You are frustrating, and a bit annoying, and you drive me mad every single day, and yet I want nothing more than for you to annoy, frustrate, and drive me mad every single day for the rest of my life. I cannot imagine a better way to spend the rest of my life on this earth than with you. God has blessed me in so many ways in my life, and yet not a single gift has ever been greater than the day He gifted me you.” There wasn’t a dry eye left in the house when Raphael’s voice broke at the end of his speech, and Simon could see Magnus’s mascara start to run out of the corner of his eye.

“Raphael, when we first met, I never thought I’d end up marrying you because you were this gorgeous, successful, suave older man and even though they say opposites attract, that isn’t actually true. If you don’t have anything in common with your partner, things won’t last.” Simon grinned. “I thought we were far too different for anything lasting, but you blew every preconception I had away when you showed me that you weren’t some uptight businessman, but were actually an incredibly funny, sweet, and kind man. You ended up being the perfect complement to every part of who I am. You’re funny and I love to laugh, you’re kind and gentle and I’m sort of annoying and loud, you enjoy cleaning and I hate it.” He got a few laughs there. “You’re my best friend in the whole world, Rafa,” he said in a softer tone, smiling at the way Raphael’s eyes shined. “God gave me the opportunity to come home to my best friend any time things get hard, any time things go amazingly, and any time in between. There is nothing cooler than that, is there?”

Magnus grinned and nodded. “And that’s Simon for you,” he joked, before proceeding to the final steps. Both Father Howard and Rabbi Norman said prayers over the rings as Raphael and Simon placed their rings on each other’s fingers, and Magnus looked between each of them, trying to subtly wipe under each eye as he finally said, “In the eyes of God and of the State of New York, I now pronounce you partners for life. You may kiss your spouse.”

Simon didn’t hesitate to throw his arms around Raphael, kissing him enthusiasm that Raphael matched as he curled his hands into Simon’s jacket, holding him close. When they broke apart to the cheers of everyone they loved most around them, Raphael framed Simon’s face in his hands, stroking his thumb along Simon’s cheek as he smiled brightly. Simon looked down into his eyes and Raphael just grinned, a tear finally streaking his cheek after all the emotions he fought to hold back. “I really get to spend the rest of my days with you, _Querido_ ,” he murmured and Simon wiped his cheek clean, leaning their foreheads together.

“Yep, you’re stuck with me now,” he said then wiggled his eyebrows playfully. “Sucker.”

Raphael just smirked, kissing him once more. “Only for you.”

~

Even on a honeymoon in the jungles of Costa Rica, their mothers still found a way to call them most every day. Simon snorted as Raphael nearly fell out of the hammock when Simon crawled on top of him, making it sway alarmingly before settling. “Phone for you, Husband. It’s your mom,” he said, offering him the telephone from inside their room, cord reaching out the door and onto the tree-top terrace.

Raphael huffed, taking the phone to hold to his ear while he held onto Simon with the other arm, knowing for a fact that if Simon shifted they would tip over. “Mama,” he greeted, giving Simon a warning look when he moved, only to relax some when Simon lay on his chest, tucking his hands under each side of Raphael’s body.

“Did Simon tell you what his mother has said now?” she asked and Raphael groaned, already knowing what was coming.

“Mama, we have been married half a week, I am not getting into this discussion yet-“

“She thinks that _she_ gets to tell my boys how to raise their children? I like her, Raphael, but that woman goes too far swearing up and down that my grandbabies will for certain be raised Jewish! The nerve-“

“Mama,” he groaned in frustration and Simon rubbed his side comfortingly. “Simon is still in college, we are not even going to think about children for years, this is not at all relevant-“

“And Simon does not even go to church with her! If anything, you would think she would worry about her own child joining her for services before going after the grandchildren-“

“There are no grandchildren!” Raphael said quickly. “There are none! There is no guarantee there will ever be some! _Dios_ , can you not wait until we even talk about whether or not we want children before you and Elaine start trying to claim them?”

Simon scoffed. “There will be grandchildren, that is guaranteed,” he spoke up so Mama Lupe could hear him. 

“See? Simon has already told us you will have children one day-“

“One day far in the future! I am definitely not having children before I am thirty,” Raphael said to his mother but while giving Simon a narrow-eyed look.

Simon grinned. “So in four years we can adopt twins to make up for the lost time,” he said and Raphael turned his eyes skyward, taking a slow, restrained breath as his mother yammered on in his ear and Simon snickered.

“Okay, Mama, I am not having this discussion _on my honeymoon_. I’m going to go take a nap and look at the monkeys in the trees and postpone this topic for at least three more years. I will talk to you later,” he said, and then tossed the phone back towards the door, not really caring that it landed on the deck and just lay there. He wasn’t getting up to go hang it up.

Simon snickered, lifting his head to smile down at Raphael. “I love Mama Lupe,” he said and Raphael scoffed, curling his arms around Simon’s back.

“You egg her on. Admit it. You like the fireworks,” he accused and Simon wiggled his eyebrows.

“Never,” he whispered, leaning in to peck Raphael’s lips. “Although,” he interrupted himself with another kiss. “We are gonna have kids,” he said, kissing Raphael’s jaw. “And we’ve already had this talk,” he added. He kissed down the side of Raphael’s neck. “You could just tell her how we decided to raise our children.”

Raphael let his head fall back, sighing as Simon kissed along his collar bone. “I don’t want to ruin their fun, though,” he admitted and Simon laughed out a loud, “A-ha!” having finally caught Raphael’s confession.

However, in his excitement, he sat up so fast, making a dorky ‘one finger in the air’ aha gesture, and overbalanced their precarious perch in the hammock, tipping it over so that they fell onto the deck with a loud ‘thud’. “Owwww,” Raphael groaned, and Simon just grunted, blinking blearily up at the sky.

“Your fault.”

Raphael gave a heavy sigh and let his head fall to the wood with another, smaller thud. “I already regret every decision I ever made,” he said, but without feeling.

Simon just reached out and patted his back, the only movement he felt like making just yet. “Sure you do.”


End file.
